Component frame of a pitching screen

ABSTRACT

A pitching screen frame formed from a generally planar rigid member separably interconnected with other structural members at joints formed in the rigid member. The planar rigid member can include a welded triangle. The welded triangle can be integrally formed into a vertical member including a T at a bottom portion, and interfitting points at a top and one or more ends for coupling with other tubes in order to construct a frame of a pitching screen as shown in the various drawings. The joints between the planar rigid member and other pitching screen components can be made by bolting, clipping, swaging, pinning, gluing, and so on. A variety of sets of components can be provided to produce a pitching screen frame. The figures depict example implementations of the disclosed subject matter. Other implementations would be understood in view of these examples.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/581,385, titled “Pitching Screen”, and filed on Dec. 29, 2011, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

A pitching screen is often generally in an L shape (viewed from a position of a batter), such that a thrower maintains a body position behind a tall part of the screen, and throws around an edge of the screen. The terms pitching screen and L-screen generally are used interchangeably herein, unless otherwise evident from context.

An L-screen can be build from pieces of steel tubing fully welded together. The fully welded frames are considered high end and are expensive. Welded frames are typically constructed from heavy duty pipe or round tubing made of steel or aluminum.

L-screen kits exist that come as sections of tubing that are bolted or snapped together. Most bolt together frames are made of steel; and use traditional bolts or snap together frames for easy customer assembly.

SUMMARY

A welded frame for a pitching screen is costly to ship, since it is typically around 6.5-8.5′ in height and width, and must ship via LTL/Freight because traditional residential carriers are not capable of handling or are unwilling to handle a package that large. Bolt together frames suffer from inadequate long-term lateral and horizontal rigidity. One reason for loss of lateral and horizontal rigidity is the comparatively flexible nature of a bolt together joint, as well as wear of the holes that allow the bolt, pin or snap to pass through the pipes. Increasing rigidity comes at a cost of increasing a strength of pipe used and/or hardware used to secure the pipes together. The relative movement of the pipes with respect to each other in a bolt together screen eventually wears on the bolt, through holes, and other components assembled components, such that these joints allow the frame to fail; leading to rapid replacement.

In one aspect, the disclosure presents a pitching screen with a welded vertical member that presents a rigid planar section in the plane of the screen. In one particular example, the welded vertical member includes a fully welded triangle portion generally in a middle portion of the pitching screen. The fully-welded triangle portion reduces twisting and bending of the frame in the center, in contrast to a bolt together screen. The vertical member can have a T-shaped section and a receiver portion distal the T-shaped intersection. Each end of the T-shaped section can interfit with tubing that defines a remainder of the pitching screen.

In some implementations of the disclosure, a sturdier screen can be shipped by residential carriers in a traditional size box or a smaller box size. The screen also can be disassembled, transported into buildings through regular 3′×7′ doorways, and taken off the field and stored during the off season. The screen is also capable of modular part replacement. Should one of the areas of the screen become dented or damaged by a baseball or object hitting it, the part could be replaced and bolted into place. As such, implementations provide an opportunity to reduce life cycle cost.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a prior art welded frame for a pitching screen;

FIG. 2 depicts an overall view of an example pitching frame according to the disclosure;

FIG. 3 depicts an example of a rigid component useful in forming pitching screen frames according to FIG. 2;

FIGS. 4-7 depict different examples of components that can be used to form a complete pitching screen frame according to the design of FIG. 2, using the rigid component of FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 depicts a different example of a rigid component according to the disclosure;

FIGS. 9A-D depict still further examples of a rigid component according to the disclosure;

FIGS. 10-11 depict further examples of sets of components that can be used to form a pitching screen frame according to the disclosure;

FIG. 12 depicts a shipping box with a rigid component according to FIG. 3;

FIG. 13 depicts a shipping box with a rigid component according to FIG. 8;

FIG. 14 depicts an example of how different components can be attached to each other to form pitching screens according to the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 depicts a conventional, fully welded pitching screen 11. Pitching screen 11 is generally in the shape of an L, providing a taller portion 12 to screen a pitcher, to allow the pitcher to throw from behind the tall portion of the screen while remaining protected from balls hit by a batter. The fully welded frame provides a rigid structure, but is cumbersome to ship and store.

FIG. 2 depicts an overview first example of a pitching screen 15 according to the disclosure. Reference 16 identifies a central portion of pitching screen 15 (central in a plane of the pitching screen, if the pitching screen were extended from an L shape to a rectangle). Central portion 16 is a location at which a rigid interconnected structure that extends in the plane of the pitching screen is provided. In the example of FIG. 2, the rigid interconnected structure forms a rigid triangle. FIG. 3 depicts an example of a rigid interconnected structure 17, which can be used to implement screen 15. FIG. 3 depicts that structure 17 provides a plurality of welded interconnections 25-28 that are between structural elements (e.g., steel pipes). FIG. 3 also depicts that structure 17 includes a plurality of attachment points 20-23 to which another structural element can be connected, such as by bolting. As can be understood from FIG. 3, an example of a rigid structure that can be used to form pitching screen frames according to the disclosure includes a central welded section that provides a triangular rigid structure, with a vertical attachment point 20 and a horizontal attachment point 23. The central welded section is connected by a downtube to a horizontal tube by a welded joint 25. The horizontal tube provides attachment points 21 and 22. The attachment points 20-23 removably couple with other members to complete a pitching screen frame onsite.

A variety of implementations and configurations of the members that can be used to complete a pitching screen frame using structure 17 can be provided. The following examples inform one of ordinary skill in the art concerning such implementations. FIG. 4 depicts structure 17. One component 19 is depicted, which would be coupled to attachment point 20 (FIG. 3). Reference 18 identifies a break between component 19 and another component 30 that will be attached to component 19, in assembling a pitching screen frame onsite (e.g., by bolting). In FIG. 4 and in the remaining figures, such a gap indicates that two pieces of material are provided and connected in the location shown.

FIGS. 5-7 depict different example divisions of components that can be used to form a pitching screen, with a structure 17, introduced in FIG. 3. For example, compared with FIG. 4, FIG. 5 depicts that component 31 can be a combination of components 19 and 30.

FIG. 8 depicts a different implementation 40 of structure 17, in which a top portion 41 and a bottom portion 42 are provided. Implementation 40 provides a bolted joint between top rigid portion 41 and bottom horizontal welded portion 42. The option in FIG. 8 would provide somewhat less long-term structural rigidity than the example of FIG. 3, but provide the advantage of a more compact shipping format, because the overall height of the rigid structural member is reduced.

To further depict that the rigid structural component according to the disclosure can take a variety of forms, FIGS. 9A-D depict examples 45-47, having different fully welded designs. Example 45 shows that a horizontal piece can be unitarily formed at a top of the rigid structural component. Example 46 shows that a dual downtube can be provided, where the downtubes can connect relative to the planar structural component as depicted. Example 47 shows a different option where dual downtubes can extend a larger distance than in example 46. Hybrids of example 46 an example 47 can be provided. All figures herein depict various implementation options and are not to the exclusion of other implementations.

FIG. 10 depicts an example of using implementation 40 with its constituent components 41 and 42 in a pitching screen frame. FIG. 11 depicts a still-further variation, in which an implementation 44 of the rigid structural component can include a (a fully welded member, which provides an attachment point 45 to connect a horizontal member that continues a horizontal member 46 across to an attachment point 48, as depicted.

FIGS. 12 and 13 depict examples of rigid structural components, (e.g., 17 and 41, respectively) fitting into different box sizes. Such structures can be sized and configured according to a desired box size. In FIG. 12, a box size is indicated by height 61, width 62 and depth 63, while in FIG. 13, box size is indicated by height 66, width 65 and depth 63. A height 66 of the box of FIG. 13 can be made less than that of FIG. 12. Being able to accommodate varying height boxes provides a capable to optimize shipping charges for different carriers that may have different charging criteria, based on different box dimensions.

FIG. 14 depicts an example of how structural components can be bolted or pinned together, for example, to secure components to the rigid structure 17. An inner tube 80 interfits with an outer tube 81. Outer tube 81 may be at an attachment point, such as attachment point 23, depicted in FIG. 3. Pins 82 and 83 go through holes formed in both tube 80 and tube 81, and can be secured by a variety of conventional mechanisms.

The above disclosure described a rigid component centrally located in a pitching screen frame, which provides a plurality of attachment points, that are used to couple to other components, in order to complete the frame. In some portions of the description, such rigid component was described as being formed of steel and welded. Welding is an example of how such rigid component can be formed, but is not by exclusion of other approaches. For example, another approach may be to adhere separately formed components together with a glue or epoxy. For example, an end user may receive separate components and adhere them together to form the rigid structure. In general, however, it is anticipated that a welded rigid member will be cheaper and more user friendly. Materials other than steel may be used, although steel is a comparatively strong and light weight material, compared to more exotic materials. The steel may be of an appropriate gauge and shape. The steel may have a square, round, or rectangular cross section, for example. The ends of the steel may be swaged. The steel may be galvanized or painted.

The figures depict various examples of rigid and generally planar frame components that are formed to receive elongate components in order to form a pitching screen. For example, a triangular component can be located generally at a lateral center of a pitching screen and accept a lateral tube to complete a top edge of the bottom part of the L. In some examples, the frame component extends from a bottom edge to a top edge of the L screen, where the bottom edge forms a T with respect to a vertical part of the rigid member. The rigid member can accept a tube to complete the vertical portion of the L, Bolt or snap together components can be used to complete the remaining portions of the pitching frame.

These examples show how a pitching screen can be made more rigid by a rigid central member that can attach to other components in order to complete a desired frame configuration. One example frame configuration is an L shaped pitching screen. The description and claims at times use the term ‘planar’ to describe a characteristic of the rigid member that includes locations at which other components can attach in order to complete the frame of the pitching screen. This terminology is not by way of excluding elements of the rigid member that are not within the plane of the pitching screen, but rather is directed to a characteristic that the rigid member includes at least a portion that is planar in the plane of the pitching screen, even though other portions of the rigid member are non-planar. Also, where the rigid member includes non-planar portions, these portions may not be welded or rigidly attached. Thus, implementations of this disclosure fully encompass these additions and changes to the examples disclosed.

Components can be assembled to the rigid component or to other components using bolts, snaps, adhesives, or combinations thereof. Where disassembly is required, adhesives would be avoided. The components that attach to the rigid member can be referred to as “bolt together components”, for the sake of convenience. The bolt together components can be provided in a variety of shapes, sizes, and can have angles, bends or turns additionally. As such, the figures do not imply any particular limitation on how the bolt together components can be arranged or formed, but rather depict a variety of examples to show the breadth of approaches that conform to the disclosures herein. 

I claim:
 1. A component of a frame for a pitching screen, comprising: a rigid planar section extending in at least two directions in a plane of the pitching screen and a plurality of attachment points for receiving elongate members that when interconnected with the rigid planar section complete the frame of the pitching screen.
 2. The component of a frame of a pitching screen of claim 1, wherein the rigid planar section forms a triangle in the plane of the pitching screen, and a vertical leg of the triangle defines a portion of a vertical member located between horizontal ends of the frame.
 3. The component of a frame of a pitching screen of claim 1, wherein the rigid planar section comprises a downtube portion that terminates in a T to provide an attachment point at each end of the T for a respective horizontal member that lies generally perpendicular to the downtube in the plane of the frame of the pitching screen.
 4. The component of a frame of a pitching screen of claim 3, wherein the downtube is welded to a section of horizontal pipe, to form the T.
 5. The component of a frame of a pitching screen of claim 1, wherein the rigid planar section has a centrally located welded triangle with at least three points at which the welded triangle can be coupled to other components to complete the frame of the pitching screen.
 6. The component of a frame of a pitching screen of claim 1, wherein the rigid planar section comprises a non-planar component.
 7. A welded rigid member for forming a frame of a pitching screen, the welded rigid member comprising first, second and third rigid components fixedly joined to form a rigid triangle member in a plane of the frame of the pitching screen, the rigid triangle member capable of interfitting with other components for removable attachment in order to form a frame for an L screen.
 8. The welded rigid member of claim 7, wherein one of the first through third components extends vertically and ends in T, the ends of the T being capable of receiving other components for removable attachment to form a bottom edge of the L screen.
 9. The welded rigid member of claim 8, wherein the rigid triangle member is removably attached to at least one component that extends generally parallel to the bottom edge of the L screen.
 10. The welded rigid member of claim 8, wherein the rigid triangle member is removably attachable to at least one component that extends vertically and which can be coupled with a component that extends generally parallel to the bottom edge of the L screen, to form a top edge of the L screen.
 11. The welded rigid member of claim 9, wherein the L screen comprises a vertical part and a horizontal part, and the rigid triangle comprises at least one part to couple with a member to complete a height of the vertical part, and at least one member to complete a width of the horizontal part.
 12. The welded rigid member of claim 8, further comprising a plurality of elongate members interfitted with one or more attachment points of the welded rigid member and each other to complete the frame.
 13. A method of assembling a pitching screen, comprising: obtaining a unitary rigid planar section extending in at least two directions in a plane and comprising attachment points for receiving elongate members that when interconnected with the rigid planar section complete the frame of the pitching screen; obtaining a plurality of elongate members capable of being interfitted with one or more of the attachment points and with each other to form a frame in the shape of an L; interfitting the plurality of elongate members and the rigid planar section to form the pitching screen, wherein the rigid planar section and the plurality of elongate members are each individually capable of passing through an opening three feet wide and seven feet tall. 